Nightly Ritual
by Auryona
Summary: A series of nightly encounters between Hermione and Severus on the astronomy tower. Post-war one-shot. AU where Snape lives. SS/HG.


Hermione could hardly hear his footsteps ascending the astronomy tower stairs, but the war had placed her on edge and she knew from the distinct sound that it was Severus Snape. She blew out a puff of smoke, lowering her cigarette to her side. As he stepped onto the landing, she did not turn around, nor even spare a glance when he stepped up a few feet beside her; she remained gazing ahead into the darkened forbidden forest. A minute passed before he spoke.

"Miss Granger."

"Mr. Snape."

She grimaced slightly at the foreign sounding name, though she had been told multiple times by the man in question that he was no longer her professor and should abstain from using the title. She saw the flicker of a match flare to life out of the corner of her eye as Snape lit a cigarette next to her. She glanced briefly at his hands illuminated by the match light, beautifully pale and elegant, before flicking her eyes away. It felt shameful of how quickly she imagined those hands on her skin.

It was nearing 1am by now, the castle below them dark and silent. Just over 100 volunteers were housed below, sound asleep by now after about ten hours of rebuilding and refurbishing. Hermione hoped they slept peacefully, unlike her, plagued with the intermittent nightmares of being tortured and a few scattered in of watching the dark man next to her bleed out. She sighed, took one last drag off her cigarette before dropping it over the side. She turned without sparing a glance to Snape and headed downstairs to bed.

xxx

She had just lit her cigarette when Snape stepped up next to her before lighting his own.

"Snape."

"Granger."

She could see the tree tops of the forest swaying in a gust of strong wind. She shivered, wearing sleeping shorts and a large Oxford University sweatshirt, she had not planned to be up here at 4am. Nor did she think Snape would be out here this late. She briefly wondered if he saw her making her way here, if he stalked the hallways at night. Sparing a glance to her left she noted he had his usual white buttoned up shirt, rolled to the elbows, and black trousers on. She was surprised upon glancing down to see his bare feet which somehow made her blush and look away. She was happy to see he had abandoned his cloak and frock coat when she had arrived to help rebuild Hogwarts, though it had unnerved her at first to see another side of him. He had been different when he returned, more relaxed and at ease than she had ever seen him, a lifetime of weight off his shoulders. His skin not so sallow, his hair pulled back more days than not, he seemed to stand taller; she had even seen him smirk and laugh with McGonagall her first week here. His laugh had made her belly flip flop, the chuckle dark and sensual to her ears. They had interacted more since she had returned, though it had remained polite small talk. It seemed they each did not know how to let go of the professor-student relationship they held before. Sometimes she would crack a joke, and he would laugh along with her. It was entirely surreal but not unpleasant; he still acted aloof, sarcastic and snarky most days, but Hermione found she liked this new version of Severus Snape, an almost approachable man.

As she mulled this over she noticed Snape stamp out his cigarette butt before flicking it over the wall. She heard his bare feet padding away and down the stairs seconds later. This had become some odd nightly ritual, the only words spoken were their respective names as acknowledgement, but she found the routine and company comforting. She yawned while mashing her cigarette into the stone wall as well, before heading back down to bed.

xxx

She smiled into the darkness as Snape huffed and sighed next to her, he was on his second cigarette tonight, unusual for him. She hid her smirk at a particularly long sigh as she turned to leave. She gave him a once over while heading for the stairs, she couldn't stop herself from thinking how attractive he had become to her even in his currently sullen state.

McGonagall had asked over dinner this evening if he would come back to teach potions for a year while they found a suitable replacement. Hermione knew he didn't want to teach, had complained all six years she was here about the stress of teaching dunderheads; she would guess he probably would want to travel or do something in research now that he was free of his masters.

As she crept down the tower steps, her thoughts remained on the man upstairs. The castle would be reopened for spring semester, less than a month. Repairs were mostly finished, rooms were being setup and lesson plans completed. She had grown accustomed to this tentative friendship they had, having a nightly ritual with Snape, in these past two months, the quiet companionship was comforting, but would soon end. He would end up, Merlin knows where, while she would be attempting to start a new life, post war. She wondered if they would stay in touch, if he felt the same about her company. Probably not.

xxx

He had his head down, leaning against the wall, his cigarette looked like it had been burning down for minutes, when Hermione stepped onto the landing. He had been publicly pardoned today, awarded the Order of Merlin, which she wouldn't have guessed by looking at his hunched shoulders, his face hidden by his hair, he appeared dejected. She lit her cigarette, took a puff and blew out a long breath before taking a chance.

"Severus."

She had never said his first name out loud before, it felt forbidden and perhaps entirely too comfortable. She didn't turn to look at him but out of the corner of her eye, she saw his head snap up. A beat. Two beats.

"Hermione."

She smiled while looking away. Her name in his chocolatey velvet voice sounded sinful, erotic even. She shivered, chocked it up to the cold. She turned her gaze back to the forest, could see he had stepped up beside her. He flicked his cigarette over the parapet and turned to leave.

She had the sudden urge to push the boundaries more; for the first time in their two months of astronomy tower nightly rituals, she felt as though this was her chance. She had a finite amount of time before she may never see him again. She closed her eyes, quickly mulling over what she would want him to know, how to summarize how she felt about him; how brave she thought he was, how handsome, how intelligent, anything. She could hear his footsteps retreating towards the stairs.

"You know," speaking out into the night, she paused. She heard his footsteps pause as well; she took a breath before continuing, hearing her heartbeat in her ears. "I used to stare at your hands while you demonstrated potions to us. I was always so transfixed, they're so delicate and pale yet strong like marble." She paused again, letting out a breath, not wanting to continue if her voice would tremble, "I still tend to wonder now how they would feel on my skin."

It was quiet, she took a drag off her cigarette, her hand shaking as she brought it to her mouth. Her face and chest burned as her thoughts raced, she was glad for having her back to him, she wondered if he had a look of horror on his face, or worse, if he was close to laughter. She counted to twenty before she heard his steps descending the staircase.

She let out a breath she had been holding, blowing cigarette smoke out into the night, her shoulders sagged, and she placed her hands against the wall. If this was the last couple weeks they would be in each other's company, there were things she wanted him to know; things she felt compelled to tell him suddenly. She laughed into the night, how absurd to think he wanted or needed her opinions, but she wanted the chance before she never saw him again. The war had made her bold, uncaring of boundaries; she should be telling people what she thought, what if she died tomorrow. A light snow began as she turned to head downstairs, wondering if he would act odd towards her tomorrow, perhaps some slight passive aggressive sneering, or if he would ignore her completely.

xxx

Hermione was tying up her boots, sitting at the end of her bed. The snow had been heavy today, she wondered if the astronomy tower had been cleared of the powder but didn't want to take the chance. She pulled a thick cloak over her pajamas. Glancing around the room, she tried to putter about for a bit. Part of her wanted to be up there when Snape was, the other part wanted to avoid the tower altogether. He had been normal today, giving no indication that their tenuous relationship had changed in any way. Some small part of her hoped he hadn't heard what she said, but she knew that was unlikely. Glancing at the clock she saw it was nearing 1am; huffing an annoyed sigh, mostly with herself for her cowardice, she stalked to her door and headed towards the tower.

As fate would have it, Snape wasn't there. She glanced about, no tracks in the snow. She lit a cigarette, started puffing it down quickly. She felt nervous, shy, worried he wouldn't even acknowledge her when he inevitably arrived.

She was half way through her cigarette when she heard footsteps behind her. She straightened and continued to stare out into the forest.

"Hermione." She startled, he was closer than she thought. She glanced to her left where he stood about two feet away, he was looking at her, catching her off guard.

"Severus." She breathed out, she didn't mean it to sound so husky, but she was shocked to catch his eye. He looked away, lighting a cigarette, staring off into the forest as well. They stood in silence, the only sound was the snow crunching beneath Hermione's boots as she shifted. They slipped back into their routine; quiet companionship. Hermione relaxed, thanking the gods that she didn't scare him away, she felt all too aware of him suddenly, standing close by.

She finished her cigarette, flicking it over the wall while glancing to Snape. He was watching her face, she blushed turning away while pulling her cloak tightly around herself.

"I couldn't stop myself from staring at your lips during my first two weeks back." Snape spoke quietly, almost in a nonchalant tone. Hermione froze, a few seconds passed before he continued. "I was fascinated at how much you had changed since I had seen you last, your hair, your demeanor, but especially your lips. Soft and full, enticing even."

She heard him sigh, she smiled but didn't turn around. Her heart was racing, she forced herself to move forward and head for the stairs.

xxx

She had finished her cigarette but was leaning on the wall, looking out into the forest. Snape, nay Severus, had told McGonagall no regarding teaching potions for the next year this afternoon while they were setting up the Great Hall. Hermione had graced him with a small smile and a nod when he had glanced her way while McGonagall tried to appeal his decision. She felt he had made the right choice, he should be free to do whatever he wants, and teaching obviously wasn't it. McGonagall had turned to her with an exasperated look but she had only shrugged and continued replacing candles.

"Hermione." Snape had stepped up to the edge, sparing her a glance.

"Severus." She pushed herself off the wall, and turned towards the door, pausing in the entryway. She glanced back at Severus, his back to her. She bit her lip, debating on if she should share another deep dark secret of hers. She sucked in a breath and went for it.

"I think about your voice while lying in bed, when I can't sleep, mulling over the mundane things you've said throughout the day, wondering how they sound so…" she paused, struggling to find the right word, she touched the cold stone by the door, grounding herself, "decadent, sinful even." She almost choked on the last words, surprised in herself for saying it; she stalked forward quickly, heading for the staircase, giving no pause for reaction from the dark man.

xxx

She arrived first again the next night. She felt drained and still slightly heated after today, she had told Harry and Ron that she would not be joining them at the ministry; they had not reacted as well as she had hoped. She had thought they would have understood, she was always meant for an academic life, she had chased down enough evil wizards for a lifetime and had no desire to make that her life again. But they couldn't understand why she was splitting up the "golden trio", she huffed and leaned against the wall, pulling a cigarette out but not lighting it, staring off into the darkness.

She had been accepted at Oxford for a duel potions and charms mastery for the next fall. She had yet to make plans until the start and she felt oddly free for the first time. Hogwarts was rebuilt, students would be returning in four days, Voldemort was dead, she had excelled in her NEWTS. She felt suddenly giddy with the idea of having nowhere to be or nothing to do for at least 8 months; caught up in her thoughts she hadn't noticed Snape sidle up next to her.

"Hermione." She jumped, then laughed into night air.

"Severus." She turned to him, gracing him with a smile, forgetting about her utterly embarrassing statement from last night. He smirked, flaring a match to life for his cigarette. Hermione looked down at her unlit cigarette before looking back up at Snape; he held up his flickering match, shielding it from the winter breeze indicating he would light her cigarette as well. He stepped closer to her, she returned his gaze as he stepped in front of her, she licked her lips and held her cigarette up. It was intimate, they hadn't been this close before; his eyelashes were long, his skin smooth and pale. The match light casting a warm glow on their faces. She leaned forward with her cigarette in her mouth when Snape suddenly flicked the match onto the ground. She watched it fall and fizzle out before looking back up at him, confusion gracing her features. Snape pulled his own cigarette from his lips, tossing it down next to the forgotten match before reaching up and pulling hers from her lips. Her brows furrowed together in confusion, about to ask what was wrong when his hands came up to each side of her face. He leaned in, paused for a beat, then pressed his lips to hers. They were warm, hot even; he stepped forward, pressing his body into hers and she gasped. He took advantage of that, sliding his tongue between her lips causing her to moan, she moved her hands to his waist, grasping his coat and pulling him further into her.

The kiss became frantic then, Severus moved a hand to the back of her neck, tilting her head back, the other hand trailed down her side, grazing her left breast and landing on her waist. His hands were warm against her chilled skin, she could feel his arousal pressed against her stomach. She suddenly wished they weren't outside, weren't on the top of this tower but in her rooms. He tasted of tobacco, spiced tea, and chocolate. The kiss slowed, Hermione grazed her teeth over his lower lip, and he groaned. The sound made her clench her thighs and moan again against his lips; he stopped, pushing away from her and looking away, standing up straight and clearing his throat.

"I apologize Miss Granger. That was…" he paused, pink tinting his cheeks.

"Perfect?" She felt bold suddenly, stepping forward she grasped his collar and pulled his head down to her, quickly re-initiating the kiss before he could protest. She ran her tongue along his lips and the kiss flared to life again; when he pressed into her this time they both groaned into each other's mouths. He tore his lips from hers and kissed across her jaw and down her neck, pulling her coat open at the same time, delving his hands under her shirt. She shivered, his hands were hot despite the cold, she tipped her head to the side, allowing his lips to continue their path to her collarbone.

"Severus," she moaned. He pressed further into her, groaning.

"Gods, I want you Hermione," he spoke against her skin. She reached up and grasped his face, pulling it back up to hers for another kiss.

"Then take me." She spoke against his lips. Any doubt in his eyes seem to dissipate upon her quiet plea, his eyes became predatory as he backed her against the wall again, kissing her thoroughly. The kiss lasted another minute before she pulled away this time, taking his hand and stepping towards the door. She smiled, tugging his hand, he smirked wickedly and followed her down the staircase. Perhaps she did have something to look forward to in these coming months.


End file.
